Prompt #5

Connection- Lisa Delpit



The biggest challenge I would have is getting the parents fully involved. In my classroom, some of the parents of the students are partially involved. For example, Ms. Lee has the phone numbers of her students’ parents, in case she needs to contact them. Another example is that Ms. Lee had spoken to me about how many parents come for “Parent – Teacher Night,” and only half of the parents attend for this night. The same goes for her classroom. I think it is very important for the parents to be involved in their child’s education. I also think that parents and teachers should be able to meet in the middle. Once the parents are involved, the communication becomes easier. If a teacher notices a change in a student’s behavior, s/he can contact the parents or guardians to discuss the cause of this behavior. There are times when a student is struggling in a subject, and does not tell their parents. Instead, some students hide their report card (so the parents will not find out they’re failing). Because of this, a teacher may be left alone to push the students to do better.

This happened in my classroom. Jeffrey was struggling in English class, and Ms. Lee took notice. She decided to call his mother, but the mother would not pick up. Ms. Lee left a message concerning Jeffrey’s failing grade, and suggested he should go to tutoring afterschool. I thought maybe the mother was busy, and would return the call. Then, Ms. Lee said out loud that she called her three times already in the previous weeks. If Jeffrey’s mother was involved, Jeffrey could have attended the tutoring sessions earlier in the quarter. He could have been passing his English class.

If I were the teacher in this classroom, I would have done what Ms. Lee did. I also would have contacted another family member. If that did not work, I would have stayed afterschool with Jeffrey to make sure he understands the material taught in class. If he was a student that was picked up by a family relative, I would have waited for his ride with him to make sure I tell someone of his failing grade. For a teacher, I understand how hard this can be because a teacher will have other students who need his/her attention. I still would have done something, so that I know I tried. This does not mean I would be giving up. I would keep trying to do my method, and hope that it works.

Although it is frustrating when parents are not involved, I would never dare to say that the parents do not care. In some cases, the reality is that the parents “do not care” because of drugs, alcohol, or a mental illness. I understand the situation Jeffrey is in because my mother did not attend all the meetings at the school or made sure I was not failing any classes. The only way my mother did those things is when my sister would tell her too. Growing up, and even to this day, my sister played the “parent role.” I would not say that my mother did not care because there is a cultural difference. Lisa Delpit, the writer who came up with the five aspects of the culture of power, talks about this issue of certain parents being called “uncaring.” She does not advocate that schools should change the homes of the children of color to match the homes of white children, so that students will perform better in school. She does not agree that parents who are not involved do not care: “What the school personnel fail to understand is that if parents were members of the culture of power and lived by its rules and codes, then they would transmit those codes to their children” (7). If parents of color understood that their involvement in their child’s education is crucial then they would practice being involved. Some parents have other rules and codes at home that are different from the school. It is two different cultures clashing in the middle.